Our brand-spanking new commercial for Sorted Magazine, take a look then go and buy one!

At this mornings Breakfast Bible Study at All Souls we studied Hebrews 7:1-8. Last week I spoke on Hebrews 5:11-6:10 - A warning against falling away - and this morning we followed up with Melchizedek the Priest. Following this I wanted to look some more at Melchizedek, who appears quite randomly for only 3 verses in Genesis 14 yet is mentioned in Psalm 110 (which apparently is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament) that points to Christ, and on numerous occasions throughout Hebrews. It seems, therefore, that this Melchizedek fella is pretty important. I’ve posted a great talk by Don Carson from the Gospel Coalition on Psalm 110 and the importance of understanding the role of Melchizedek. It is over and hour long but worth every second. 

I have had a sneak pre-print preview of the Olympic edition of Sorted Magazine and it is s-weet. Here are a few reasons why I think it is well worth picking up a box or four:

1.     The cover looks sweet (see above).

2.     It is only £50 for 50 copies, saving you £125 which could get you this or this or even this.

3.     My column is accompanied by a large picture of David ‘Golden Balls’ Beckham. This made my girlfriend very happy.

4.     There are three full pages of the legendary Bear Grylls.

5.     Jess Ennis.

6.     The magazine is a recommended More Than Gold Resource, and those guys are awesome.

7.     Rico Tice gives a no-holds-barred gospel message. In case you don’t know, the man is an evangelism machine.

8.     Carl Beech always has the last word. And rightly so.

9.     There is an interview with some guy called Steve Redgrave. Apparently he is a knight of some sort….

10. There is an ultimate guide to the Olympics. You won’t miss a thing.

11. There are 108 quality pages, more than any edition yet.

12. You are part of something much bigger. Hundreds of Churches are buying these magazines as well as the thousands of copies that are being given away on tubes, in Churches and around Olympic venues. 

So fellas, no excuses. Buy a box for your church here, or tell you church minister, events organiser or the chap with the churches wallet. 

brinksmatt:

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3)

So, for the next 40 days I will be blogging on http://sams40actsjourney.wordpress.com/ for 40acts.

40acts is a campaign from Stewardship that encourages you to do Lent generously.

40 days, 40 reflections, 40 simple acts.

Lent is usually about ‘giving stuff up’, isn’t it? What if you could add something transformational to the traditional?

What if you could give up chocolate and give the money to your favourite charity? What if you could turn the TV off and spend more time helping your neighbour? What if your Lent, this year, was a preparation for a lifetime of big-heartedness?

If you haven’t come across this yet then take a look. I used it first in a series of youth talks ‘Paradoxes: Counter Cultural Christ’ in the summer and it was used at All Souls for the2012 Conference last month. Thanks to Dare2Share Ministries for this immensely powerful video. www.dare2share.org www.the2012.org.uk

This morning Sorted Magazine went on sale in 316 WHSmiths stores around the UK. Sorted, described by The Daily Telegraph as ‘the Lad’s mag with morals’, is a good wholesome alternative to FHM, Nuts and Loaded. And a ‘wholesome alternative’ doesn’t mean all the good stuff taken out, oh no, not for a second Sorted is full of fantastic articles on success, faith, finance, fitness, passion and purity, motoring, movies, tons of football, DVD’s, addictions, accountability, mentoring and much more. And if that is not enough there’s a Gadgets expert, a motoring correspondent, a rather funny comedian as well as a ‘60 Second Life Coach’ and a ‘Sex Doc’. And If you don’t believe me have a read of what these two fellas have to say:

“I am constantly trying to work out my place in the universe. Sorted is helping.” Jeremy Vine – BBC Television and Radio Presenter

“Down to earth, real, ‘un-religious’ – that’s why Sorted has helped my Christian faith so much!” Bear Grylls

Being on sale in Smith’s is another first for a Christian magazine, so tell your mates, colleagues and networks as it would be sensational to sell-out completely. Maybe think about buying one for your office, a box for your church or a couple for some mates. Most inportantly join us in sending a powerful message to high street retailers that there is demand for something more wholesome than the conventional lads’ mags. Cheers!

(Oh, and in the latest issue you can read about (and laugh at) my useless attempts at romance from last Valentines Day…Enjoy!) 

Stewardship Christmas Blog

Perhaps it is when you hear ‘Slade’ blasting out across the supermarket floor, or when you first pull on that maroon coloured turtle neck sweater. Maybe it is when the Z-list celebrity (‘He starred in Doctor Who, he was the guy on the left in the mask, oh, and he was once in Paddington Green, do you remember?’) arrives to switch on the village lights. Maybe it’s when you finally get the tree up and the tinsel on, dreading the following six months of hovering up pine needles from behind the sofa. Perhaps only Marmite causes as great a war of opinions as the question of when the Christmas season actually begins. ‘Far too soon’, you scrooges out there cry; ‘Not soon enough!’ reply the romantics who have been wearing knitted Rudolf socks since mid-August.

For me, however, Christmas begins when the adverts kick in. No longer is it acceptable to simply add a cheesy Christmas hit to a standard advert in order to sell your Christmas stock, no, it seems inherent now that a Christmas advert must get Mike Tyson reaching for the Kleenex. And when I saw the John Lewis Christmas advert the other week I was suitably impressed. I had heard rumours of grown men reduced to tears in front of their television screens (something unheard of outside of relegation battles, F.A cup Finals and the odd episode of the X-factor) and it did not disappoint.

 The advert shows a young boy twiddling his thumbs, tapping his feet, throwing a ball against the wall, all the time watching the clock count down the days, hours and minutes until Christmas. Finally, Christmas Eve arrives and the boy scoffs down his dinner and jumps into bed eagerly anticipating the abundance of presents that will arrive for the morning. Numerous fictional hours pass before the boy wakes up and, as the camera pans to the end of his bed where a pile of presents awaits him, his eyes light up. The boy steps out of bed and, without a second thought, walks straight past the pile of presents and opens his wardrobe door. Emerging with a scruffily wrapped box, he walks into his parents room and, with a small smile, holds out the present. The advert ends with the tag line ‘For gifts you can’t wait to give’.

Ultimate cheese you may say, and you probably have a point, but the adverts message has an echo of something a Nazarene bloke said over 2000 years ago; ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’. This guy was counter-cultural; he turned the world upside-down, everyday thinking turned on its head. Like the advert, with Jesus the ‘ending’ was not what the beginning might have suggested. A new King born ends up dead on a cross, the ultimate sacrifice; the ultimate gift.

Christmas is about generosity; not my generosity, nor yours (and definitely not that of the fat bearded man in the red coat), but the generosity of our God, who sent his only son into our broken world to pay the ultimate price for our sin. Generosity that was not changed despite the full knowledge that his son would be ridiculed and abandoned and the gift would go unappreciated by millions. If that isn’t enough to encourage us to be generous this Christmas then what is?

This Column was original written for Stewardship Christmas Blog 2011 

For more from Stewardship visit www.stewardship.org.uk or follow @stewardshipnews on Twitter

Isn’t it annoying when a TV program gets in the way of some good adverts. This one is one of my favourites. However, like many adverts (Lynx, Gillette, Fosters, Stella to name afew), this one suggests to us, quite blatantly, what being manly is about.

But what is the Biblical model for manliness? The Bible tells us that our identity should lie in Christ (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3), that manliness is not about how we smell, or what we wear, where we work, how much we earn, or how pathetic we would look stood in a ring with Wladimir Klitschko (which is good, because I would look ridiculous).

Biblical manliness is not about what car we drive or how many girlfriends we have had, or whether we could wrestle and alligator or catch a falling child. Biblical manliness is about seeking the will of our God. It is about setting an example through self control (Titus 2:6), it is about engaging with the Bible which is not just for pen pushers but for proper tough men of God (Joshua 1:8), it is about humility (1 Peter 5:5), honesty (Ephesians 4:25) and conceding to Godly authority (Psalm 32:8). It is about loving as Christ loved (Ephesians 5:2-25) and seeking Him in all you do (Matthew 6:33).

If, in the process you have to chance to occasionally shower and smell good then all the better.

Challenged recently by these awesome words from John 3:30. John the Baptist, a man famous throughout the land for his declaration of Christ’s coming, says these simple, yet powerful words:

He must become greater;

I must become less.

So often we feel that in order to evangelise we must proclaim our own name as loud as Christ. Everybody has heard of Billy Graham and many others, however John, the ultimate evangelist, realises that he is of little importance compared to who is coming next. Shortly after this JB is arrested and put in prison, he stays there until his execution. Jesus didn’t come and rescue him from prison, he had a much more significant rescue mission going on, John’s ministry was short, but necessary he proclaimed Christ not himself. Somehow I don’t imagine there would have been a ‘John the Baptist ministries’…